


Black and Blue - Volume 2

by BlackHatKat, Pandora (Anatheia)



Series: Black and Blue - A RWBY Alternate Canon story [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Canon, Character insertion, Episodic companion piece, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 14,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23501335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackHatKat/pseuds/BlackHatKat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anatheia/pseuds/Pandora
Summary: A direct continuation of volume 1.  The Vytal Festival has begun, and you all know what happens at the end...
Relationships: Cardin Winchester/Original Male Character, Mercury Black/Original Female Character
Series: Black and Blue - A RWBY Alternate Canon story [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685386
Kudos: 2





	1. Round One (A)

Azura sat in her seat, intently watching the match below between Team CRDL and a team from Shade. Beside her, Nyx was chuckling to himself about something. Ignoring her partner, she went about using her semblance to analyze all the combatants. When Nyx had learned how it worked, he’d playfully nicknamed it, ‘Tactical Advantage’. She’d rolled her eyes but allowed the silly name to stand. 

As far as she and Nyx were concerned, they would have to do most of the heavy lifting in the first round for their team, but then that'd be it. The entirety of this exercise was to test Penny, after all. What she was doing right now was just for fun and practice. Finally, CRDL won the fight and Nyx pouted.

"You really don't like that Winchester guy, do you?" Azura chuckled.

Nyx shrugged. "Maybe I just like poking the bear."

Azura shook her head and glanced up at the large screen which was now showing the lineup for the next match. A familiar face appeared on it and she felt her face grow warm. 

"Hey it's your wannabe boyfriend's team," Nyx teased.

"And your wannabe girlfriend!" Azura countered, motioning at the image of the dark-haired young woman that was on the same team as Mercury.

"Meh, Cinder's fun to flirt with but I can't really get a good read on her," Nyx replied. "Unlike Captain Obvious who practically stalks you. Maybe you should just go on a date with him already."

"Ugh, that would only encourage his disgusting behaviour," Azura said, scrunching her nose. Nyx’s description of the silver-haired young man as a stalker was not far off from the mark. Ever since they'd come back from the Breach incident in Vale, Mercury had suddenly just started appearing almost everywhere she went on campus. Sometimes he'd approach and tease her, and sometimes he'd just be there... watching her from the other side of the room. It gave her the creeps. "He's just so damn persistent!"

"So you're not interested in him at all?" Nyx raised an eyebrow. "Hate to say it, Azura, but I find that hard to believe." 

Azura huffed and crossed her arms. "What makes you say that?" she demanded.

Nyx tapped a finger to his cheek. "Well for one, you haven't just beat the crap out of him yet."

"Nyx! We're guests here!" Azura looked scandalized.

Her friend gave her a serious look. "And two, if you really felt harassed, I know you wouldn't just let him keep doing what he's doing. Azura, you're being just as bad as he is. Go out with him and get it over with. Even Ciel's noticed what's going on and this is Ciel we're talking about."

"Fine," Azura ground out. "One date. The next time he asks."

Nyx nodded, seemingly satisfied and settled back into his seat to watch the match. Reluctantly, Azura looked back down at the arena floor as well, dreading the inevitable smug look on Mercury's face when she finally said yes to him.

\--

Mercury spotted Azura standing by one of the Festival vendor booths, flipping through a book. She was still wearing her dull-coloured school uniform. Aside from that dress at the ball, he'd yet to see her in anything else. She and her team still hadn’t had their match, but he recalled Emerald commenting that it was soon. He moved quickly, sliding up silently beside her thanks to years of practice. It appeared she hadn't noticed, still engrossed in whatever she was reading.

"Out of all the junk they're selling here and you find the one place that has nerd-material," he murmured into her ear. She flinched, and he grinned as he saw her cheeks turn red.

"It's fiction," Azura defended herself, closing the book and putting it back on the display. She took out her scroll which was blinking. "I need to get back to the arena."

"Ooh, time for the big show? Have to say, I'm looking forward to it," he smirked.

Azura sighed. "I'm sure you are." She turned and began to walk back towards the arena. He immediately followed her, catching up alongside and keeping pace.

"You doing anything after?"

She visibly stiffened but kept moving. "Not particularly. Probably just going to watch some more fights."

"We should hang out."

Azura was silent for a minute and then she spoke. "And what makes you think my answer will be any different from the other times you've asked?"

Mercury grinned. "Because you didn't say no right away."

Azura halted and looked at him. "Okay, fine. One date."

"Date? Really? All I wanted to do was hang out with you, but if you insist, it can totally be a date," Mercury chuckled triumphantly. Azura then turned completely scarlet and he reached out, tucking a stray strand of blue hair behind her ear, smoothly brushing his hand against her cheek. "I’ll catch up with you after your fight then. I promise I'll be on my best behaviour." He winked.

"...alright," she muttered and backed up a few steps out of his reach.

"Good luck!" he waved as she turned and dashed away. As soon as she was out of sight, he stuck his hands in his pockets and sauntered off to where Emerald was waiting around the other side of some booths.

"I take it that went well. You've got your smug face on again," Emerald remarked.

"I knew she'd crack sooner or later," Mercury shrugged.

Emerald rolled her eyes. "You're just lucky Cinder's interested in her and her partner. She wouldn't let you get that close to her otherwise."

Mercury snorted. "Says you. My job's way more fun than yours at least... chumming around with those goodie-goodies."

Emerald glared at him. "Don't remind me."

"I think I will."

"I hate you."

xxx


	2. Round One (N)

Nyx watched Cardin's team battle-- they were against a team from Shade. He honestly didn't even care who they were. He just wanted to see if Cardin would be motivated enough to win. If he did-- Nyx was already picking an outfit in his head, thanks to having shopped for Penny and Ciel so recently.

Cardin wasn't wrong-- he was definitely the prettier of the two of them. That had never particularly bothered Nyx-- though he was wondering what to do about his hair-- and his ears. He wore it long and loose because it hid his ears-- he'd never tried to put it up before. Cardin's hair was short-- he could just put on a wig and be done with it.

Nyx’s eyes wandered the stadium stands as the battle dwindled to just Russel and his opponent, the rest of CRDL closing in on them quickly. He was looking at the girls, mostly-- Nyx wasn't particularly fussed about things like 'gender' or even 'faunus or human'. He liked what he liked-- and while he and Cardin definitely seemed to have something going on-- there was something else on campus he liked too.

He caught sight of Cinder walking down the stairs from the stands as Russel's foe dropped, and Team CRDL won their match. Nyx made a disappointed sound. He still thought it would be fun to see Cardin in drag-- but he hadn't planned on forcing the issue if the closeted youth protested.

"You really don't like that Winchester guy, do you?" Azura chuckled.

Nyx shrugged, and struggled against both a grin, and a blush. What Azura didn't know certainly wouldn't hurt her in this case. "Maybe I just like poking the bear," he replied casually.

They looked back at the screen, and when Cinder and her teammates appeared, he saw a small blush rise on Azura’s face.

"Hey it's your wannabe boyfriend's team," Nyx teased, simply to have an excuse for his grin.

"And your wannabe girlfriend!" Azura countered.

"Meh, Cinder's fun to flirt with but I can't really get a good read on her," Nyx replied honestly. "Unlike Captain Obvious who practically stalks you. Maybe you should just go on a date with him already." It was clear that Mercury was an arrogant ass-- but Azura needed somebody who had the confidence to get past her cool and well-guarded exterior. Not everyone had been lucky enough to know Azura for years as he had.

"Ugh, that would only encourage his disgusting behaviour," Azura said, scrunching her nose. "He's just so damn persistent!"

"So you're not interested in him at all?" Nyx raised an eyebrow. "Hate to say it, Azura, but I find that hard to believe."

Azura huffed and crossed her arms. "What makes you say that?" she demanded.

Nyx tapped a finger to his cheek. "Well for one, you haven't just beat the crap out of him yet."

"Nyx! We're guests here!" Azura looked scandalized. 

He wasn't wrong though-- Azura was a capable young woman. Even though she considered herself an intellectual and not a fighter, she wielded her weapons with enough skill that he had been satisfied with her as a partner. She much preferred to work in a supporting role when she could-- and she was excellent at it.

Nyx gave Azura a serious look, and pushed past her objection. "And two, if you really felt harassed, I know you wouldn't just let him keep doing what he's doing. Azura, you're being just as bad as he is," he scolded. She blushed, and he sighed a little. "Go out with him and get it over with. Even Ciel's noticed what's going on and this is Ciel we're talking about."

In fact, Azura’s plight was so obvious that their fourth teammate had completely missed his secret rendezvous all over the school for the last few weeks.

"Fine," Azura ground out. "One date. The next time he asks." 

Nyx nodded, satisfied that she would be sufficiently distracted by the silver haired young man-- and with a promise elicited from Penny not to go off campus without at least telling him, he just had to make sure he didn't bump into Cinder while he was with Cardin.

That would be-- not necessarily a problem-- but-- problematic.

xxx

Cinder found Nyx disposing of some paper dishes into a wastebin at the food stalls-- she and her team had split up to find out who would be fighting for the teams that interested them. A few stalls away, Mercury had located Nyx's pretty partner, Azura.

Nyx flushed a little when he saw her, and it made Cinder smile.

"Hello, handsome," she said, and he smiled slowly.

"Hello, gorgeous. It's been a while since I've seen you," he commented. 

Cinder chuckled, and trailed a fingertip down his chest a little. "Well, I've been busy-- but it seems I have some free time... if you're... still available?" she asked coquettishly. Nyx's glance flicked past her, but she didn't turn to see what he was looking at, because his smile widened, and he met her gaze again.

"At the moment-- I am available it seems-- how lucky for us, hm?" he smiled, and Cinder almost felt smug.

He'd probably seen Mercury with Azura. She smiled because his partner was sufficiently distracted by her Guy Minion. Emerald was so clingy-- she enjoyed making her pal around with the little brats from Team RWBY-- while she got to enjoy something she rarely indulged in.

If Cinder had been paying attention though, she'd have noticed that Nyx was throwing away enough dishes for far more than one-- even with the appetite of a combat-active young male. If she'd bothered to turn around, she would have seen that Cardin was suddenly joined by his teammates nearby.

She would have seen their eyes meet, and then Cardin's nod before he turned his back.

But Cinder didn't care what had made Nyx grin-- or who he'd been sharing a meal with.

She only cared that he was very attentive to her enjoyment before his own-- and he never overstayed his welcome. Nyx was detached-- he could enjoy the physical pleasure of their encounters without becoming emotionally entangled. While she could have manipulated him more thoroughly if he'd been foolish enough to develop feelings for her-- Cinder appreciated he didn't chase after her like some... lovesick puppy.

Nyx knew she was using him-- and he was doing the same.

xxx


	3. New Challengers (N)

Azura was still attending the rest of the day’s fights-- texting him updates on his scroll of match-ups, wins, and losses. Beacon’s JNPR was moving on, and SSSN from Haven was currently matched against NDGO of Shade. They'd had their fight already-- Penny and Ciel would go on to the next round as had been predetermined by his father. Nyx was now taking the opportunity to study instead-- he'd found a surprising amount of his time taken up by the flirtations he'd taken up-- both entirely on a whim.

"So-- who is the hot brunette?" a voice asked, and Nyx glanced up from his studying.

Somebody had just sat down in the seat behind him at the study kiosk.

He knew him by his voice, of course.

"Hmm-- she's on a Haven team-- one of her teammates has a thing for Azura," Nyx replied, smirking a little.

"So-- you and she didn't run off hand in hand after my team showed up earlier?" Cardin asked, and Nyx blinked a little. 

The question was asked with care-- trying not to be jealous. Nyx chewed his lip for a moment, thinking about how he wanted to handle the situation.

Cinder wasn't wrong about Nyx-- she just wasn't right about him. He was using her-- yes. He did think she was pretty-- girls were soft and curvy and smelled nice. Cinder was all three of those things-- but she was also cold, and he suspected dangerous as well.

But Cardin wasn't any of those things.

And Nyx wasn't using him... in fact, he rather liked the young man Cardin was when they were together.

"Just... keeping up appearances, same as you," Nyx finally said. He used his semblance to lighten the gravity in his chair and tilted it back so he was half sprawled across the gap between the study kiosks. He leaned back far enough so they could see each other. "Cinder gives us good cover," he said quietly, and Cardin looked down at him, clearly still upset. Nyx lifted a brow, smiling slowly. As he did, Cardin began to blush, and Nyx’s smile widened to a grin.

"Shut up!" Cardin finally managed, and lifted a hand, shoving Nyx’s floating chair further to the floor.

The chair clunked dully and began to float back up immediately with its reduced gravity and new momentum. As it did, Cardin's hand against Nyx’s chest prevented him from floating too far, and he leaned a little closer.

"So-- you like me more than her?" he asked, still blushing, his voice pitched low. 

Nyx laughed softly and lifted a hand to catch Cardin's uniform by the tie. "Cardin-- I don't like her at all," he murmured, pulling himself a little closer.

"Do you--?" Cardin began to ask, and Nyx twisted his hand, wrapping his fist in the tie he held.

"I didn't tell Cinder any of my secrets-- but-- do you want me to stop?" he asked, and Cardin looked away. It was clearly yes-- but he didn't want to say it. Nyx gave the tie a little slack as Cardin pulled away from him-- but he didn't let it leave his grasp. "I'll stop if you want-- I don't care about Cinder-- but I do care about you. Don't make me hurt you by not being honest with me," he said softly, and Cardin swallowed.

"Yes-- I am jealous of that pretty girl," he finally admitted, and Nyx smiled a little.

"She should be jealous of you," he replied and surprised Cardin by catching the back of his neck, pulling him suddenly almost close enough to kiss. "After all-- she's the one I'm ditching for you." Nyx closed the distance-- but he didn't let the kiss linger, mindful of Cardin's 'outness'.

"Ugh-- I don't wanna be a needy bitch--" Cardin sighed, but lifted his hand, and let Nyx’s chair float as he willed it to. He leaned forward, and let the chair settle on the ground. "I've never-- done this before."

Nyx smiled a little. "I know-- but I like you, so I think it's cute," he replied, and Cardin snorted.

"Shut up!" he said again, and Nyx grinned.

"Make me," he replied cheekily as he leaned over his books again.

Cardin snickered a little. "Maybe later."

xxx


	4. New Challengers/It's Brawl in the Family (A)

Azura was messaging Nyx on her scroll about JNPR’s win over team BRNZ when Mercury plopped down in the vacant seat next to her holding a half-empty tub of popcorn. She gave him a sideways glance before hitting send on her update.

“Want some?” Mercury offered out the comically large container.

“Did you seriously eat that much yourself?” Azura asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m a growing boy,” he defended himself, taking back the popcorn. “Gotta say, I was impressed by your team’s fight.”

“Mm.” Azura leaned an elbow on the opposite armrest. “So is this our ‘date’, then?”

“Sure, if you want it to be. We can get some dinner after too, if you’re up for it,” Mercury shrugged, digging out another handful of popcorn.

“I guess that all depends on this ‘good behaviour’ you were talking about earlier,” Azura said, giving him an amused smile as she watched him stuff the snack into his mouth. She supposed she could give him one chance, at least. If it didn’t work out, then there were plenty of ways to handle people like him.

He chewed and swallowed, regarding her profile. “So you finally ditched your school threads, huh?”

“Oh, um, yeah. Nyx pointed out that everyone else seemed to be fighting in their casual wear so I changed before our match,” Azura said, shifting a bit in her seat. She fought a blush as Mercury’s eyes lingered on her clothes for a few seconds longer than necessary before returning his attention to the arena floor. They were still setting up for the next match which would be the last one for the day.

“That partner of yours seems to have an unusual knack for fashion,” Mercury remarked, holding out the popcorn again to which Azura took a few pieces. “Did he help you pick that ensemble out?”

Azura chuckled. “No, I do all my own shopping. But yes, Nyx quite enjoys being my consultant on occasion.” She looked at him. “What about you? Does Cinder have any say in your attire? I’m sorry to say that she comes across as that sort of person.”

Mercury snorted and ran a hand through his hair with his non-popcorn hand. “She wishes. My look is all my own, thank you very much.”

“It... suits you,” Azura said politely, and saw the smirk appear on Mercury’s face, even though he wasn’t currently looking at her.

“Yeah? Same for you,” he replied without any hint of sarcasm. 

“Ah... thanks,” she murmured. Perhaps she could tolerate him after all.

The final match was the all-male team SSSN of Haven against the all-female team NDGO of Shade. Both sides had quite the fan-bases loudly cheering them on. Azura messaged Nyx again, who was supposedly studying in the library. Between what was actually happening below along with Mercury’s snarky play-by-play opinionated commentary beside her, the fight proved to be fairly entertaining.

“Couple of dorks,” Mercury chortled as Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias were performing some sort of ‘victory dance’ while everyone else was looking on.

“Aw, I think it’s cute,” Azura said, helping Mercury finish up the dregs of the tub of popcorn. “Don’t suppose you could do any better?”

“Maybe you should’ve taken me up on my offer at the dance and found out,” Mercury replied, setting the empty container down on the floor and brushing his hand off on his black pants.

“Well you didn’t exactly make a good first impression,” Azura countered, taking out her scroll to let Nyx know the results of the match. “Do those lines even work on people?”

“Eh, not really. It’s just fun to see what sort of reaction you get,” Mercury grinned. “That’s the real test.”

“So how’d I do?” Azura asked, giving him her own little smirk.

“Hard to say. Think I’ll need to gather some more information first.” He winked and she rolled her eyes but actually laughed as well. That was a very good sign. “So did you still wanna grab some dinner?”

Azura hummed to herself and looked at the time on her scroll. “How about a raincheck? I think I’m just going to grab something quick... I’ve got some work that I need to get done tonight.” That and Penny was due for another diagnostic, especially after their match today.

Mercury pouted but nodded. “Well that’s disappointing, but okay. Raincheck it is. Can I message you? It’d totally save on having to hunt you down every time.”

“Oh, um, okay.”

They exchanged contact information on the transport back to the school and went their separate ways afterwards. Azura headed down to the fairgrounds to get some take-out from the noodle vendor while Mercury strolled through the gathering crowd in the school’s courtyard, reveling in his success at scoring a second date with the pretty Atlas girl.

Huh. What was going on there? A fight?

Mercury glanced through the students and spotted someone familiar than made his stomach flip. He then picked up his pace and headed straight back to Cinder’s room to report in with the unfortunate news.

xxx


	5. It's Brawl in the Family (N)

"Hey."

Nyx made a noise of acknowledgment, but he didn't move. He was sprawled across the grass on his stomach, but the upper half of his body was mostly draped across Cardin's lap. They'd gone out to the Emerald Forest after he was done studying-- training had happened, then making out-- now cuddling. Nyx was on the verge of slumber.

Cardin's fingers were buried in Nyx’s hair-- not pulling, though Nyx enjoyed that readily enough. No-- instead, he was simply running his thumb almost meditatively behind the ragged edge of Nyx’s docked ear. There was a soft edge of fur-- something a little softer than Nyx’s already soft hair.

"We've been here for hours--" Cardin murmured, and Nyx made a non-committal noise. "I don't wanna go back-- but I'm fuckin' starving," he stated, and Nyx sighed a little, opening his eyes.

"You have to stop if you want me to get up," he sighed. 

Cardin smiled a little. "Sorry-- I've never cuddled before," he replied, and Nyx lifted his head with a frown.

"That makes me not want to get up--" he began, but his scroll went off, and he sighed, pushing himself out of Cardin's grasp to answer it.

"Yes-- yes sir. I'm close-- of course. I'll be there shortly," he said crisply, and without saying anything else, hung it up, then sighed a little. "Sorry-- I need to go," he stated.

"Who is that?" Cardin asked curiously. 

Nyx gazed at him for a moment. "Promise not to tell my secrets?" he asked, and Cardin smiled.

"Who would believe me?" he shrugged, and Nyx laughed.

"I'm... General Ironwood's son. My mom was a faunus," Nyx explained, and Cardin's jaw dropped.

"So-- you're actually Nyx Ironwood? Not Kenyon?" he asked, and Nyx shrugged.

"I use mom's name-- but-- I have work shit," he sighed, and Cardin rose to pull Nyx close again, giving him a lingering kiss.

"I get it. Maybe if I win the Vytal Festival-- you can introduce me to him," he said, and Nyx grinned.

"I like this conversation-- let's have it on the way back to Beacon," he suggested, and they grabbed their stuff for the trip back to the school.

\---

Nyx and Cardin split up upon landing, Nyx dashing off through the air to his room-- he'd taken to using it as a shortcut. He changed quickly to a clean white and grey uniform, brushed his hair proper, and headed for the elevator to Ozpin's office.

He rode it alone, and was surprised that when he arrived, the only occupants of the room were two people: his father, and pacing around beside him, a severe but attractive young woman he knew well. He didn't smile, but their eyes met, and she gave him a small nod of acknowledgment.

Winter Schnee was one of the few people who knew that the young man chosen to work with Dr. Polendina's team was Ironwood's son. She didn't know he was a faunus-- that was a much smaller pool of people who knew that secret-- Ironwood never told anyone-- he let Nyx decide that for himself. Even though she was a Schnee, Nyx respected her-- Winter put the work in, same as anyone else. His father valued the young woman beyond her last name, so Nyx had chosen to exclude her from his dislike of her family in general.

“What’s bothering her?” Nyx asked his father as Winter looked even more scowly than usual.

Ironwood sighed. “You’ll see.”

Behind him, the elevator had gone down and back up again, bringing with it the other three people that were attending this meeting. When the door opened, the stranger standing between Ozpin and Glynda seemingly reeked of alcohol.

“What were you thinking?” Winter suddenly exclaimed, speaking directly to the grey-streaked dark-haired man as he entered the room.

“If you were one of my men, I’dve had you shot,” Ironwood added, much to his son’s surprise.

“If I was one of your men, I’d shoot myself,” the man replied, and Nyx couldn’t help but snort which drew his attention. "Got yourself a new puppy, Ironwood?"

Nyx flushed, but he knew it wasn't his place to respond-- and that was one jab he tried to let pass. When he was younger, his hair would twitch as he laid his ears back-- now he just went a little red in the face.

"Qrow-- this is my son, Nyx," Ironwood said calmly, and the man looked at him with renewed interest.

"Hm-- Where has he been keeping you, kid? You're older than my nieces, I'd guess--" he stated, and Ozpin smiled a little from his chair.

"You've already met his nieces, I believe, Nyx-- Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long," he stated, and Nyx’s eyes widened a little.

"Ruby's a good kid-- Yang and I haven't talked much. As to your other question-- I was a child-- I was in school. My team is participating in the Vytal Festival," he answered.

"So why are you coming to a staff meeting but I didn't get to invite Ruby?" he asked, and Nyx looked at his father.

"I wanted him to meet you, Qrow. So he doesn't accidentally gut your drunk ass if you show up in Atlas," Ironwood stated, and Winter chuckled.

"Like this kid could take me--" Qrow began, and she smiled.

"Maybe you should re-watch some of the fights while you're sober. You could learn something from these children-- before you're inevitably replaced by them," she said icily, and Nyx managed not to smirk the whole time.

Nyx heard Glynda sigh softly. "Even the adults are children--" she muttered under her breath, and now he had to fight a smile instead.

xxx


	6. Lessons Learned (A)

Azura listened to the murmuring all around her as the crowd favourite, Team CVFY, had just gotten stomped in what seemed to be a huge upset. She'd used her semblance again to peek at the combatants' vitals and had been actually surprised that although Mercury had been putting on quite the spectacle, he'd maintained a fairly steady state throughout the fight. It was like fighting was second nature to him. No wonder he had such a huge ego to match. What kind of idiot was she really, to admittedly be attracted to a guy like him? 

Sighing, she stood up and made her way to the atrium. She was meeting Mercury down at the fairgrounds for another date; he'd messaged her on her scroll right before the match and she'd agreed to see him afterwards. He'd admittedly kept to his promise on their first 'date'; despite his cocky attitude, he'd been well-behaved and she'd actually enjoyed their conversation. She wondered just how smug he was going to be today after this victory.

\--

"Follow my instructions to the letter, get what we need, and then you can have your fun," Cinder murmured to him, patting his shoulder before sauntering off towards the schoolgrounds to see if Nyx needed any more ‘distracting’ during this part of the plan.

Mercury puffed out his chest slightly and Emerald scowled darkly.

"Aw, don't be like that Em," he teased.

"Like what?" Emerald snapped. "Those two are dangerous! Cinder will be able to deal with Kenyon no problem, but you..."

"Please, I'm a professional. I know how to handle a mark, no matter how distractingly pretty she is," Mercury scoffed.

"Just think with your brain, asshole," Emerald warned, punching him in the arm. She had way too many doubts about this whole side-operation... not that she'd actively voiced them to Cinder. When the dark-haired woman had gone through the information she'd gleaned from General Ironwood's scroll last night, she'd discovered that the pair from Atlas were more than just what was written in their school record files. Cinder was confident though, and so Emerald had continued to follow her orders, despite now knowing that Azura Yiu worked for the Atlas Military Science Division and incredibly, Nyx Kenyon was somehow General Ironwood's son. This was bad. All of it.

"Hey Azura."

Emerald froze and then plastered a friendly smile on her face. "Hey," she greeted, turning to see the Atlas student standing there.

"Hi Emerald," Azura replied. "Congrats on your win. Everyone around me was pretty shocked." 

She wasn't wearing her uniform today. In fact, after her team's match in the first round when she had changed into her casual clothes, Emerald was pretty sure she hadn't seen Azura back in that grey outfit since she had to slap the back of Mercury's head when he'd watched their fight. What a moron. It's not like the girl's clothes were revealing in the slightest. Sure, they happened to have the exact same colour palette as his clothes except for the blue, but still. Cinder had said he could have some fun, but Emerald was concerned at just how far Mercury was planning on taking things. Too far could jeopardize their position and Cinder would not like that at all.

"Were you?" Mercury asked with a smirk.

Azura stuck her tongue out at him. "It didn't seem like a fair fight, but that's what you get when you use a randomizer," she shrugged, not completely answering his question.

"True," Mercury hummed, throwing an arm around her shoulder and spinning her around away from Emerald. "So, how about we check out that ice cream stand from Vacuo? I hear they have some real weird flavours."

"Mm, okay. Maybe they'll actually have my favourite... not many places do." She glanced over her shoulder. "Is Emerald joining us?"

Emerald threw up her hands. "Oh no, you two kids go have fun... I've got some errands to run." She waved after them as they headed towards said ice cream booth. When they were gone, she flicked her wrist, Azura’s scroll now in her possession. She'd return it later, under the guise she'd found it on the ground. For now though, she had her own orders to follow.

\--

“Salutations, Azura! And salutations Azura’s friend!”

Azura turned from where she and Mercury were standing inbetween two of the vendor booths. He had one hand casually braced beside her head against the wall she was leaning on. They were just talking, but he’d managed to find this small nook that allowed them a bit of privacy... just in case. 

“Oh, Penny, hi,” Azura said with a blink. Her ginger-haired teammate was waving at her while Ciel stood beside her with her usual neutral expression.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Penny asked innocently.

Azura glanced at Mercury who appeared to be trying not to scowl. Clearly he thought she was. She chuckled and ducked under his arm so she could approach her. “What’s up?”

“Err...” Penny looked between Ciel and Mercury. “May I speak to you alone for a moment?” She smiled, adjusting her large sunhat, but Azura could tell that something was going on with the synthetic girl.

“Of course.”

“Wonderful! We’ll be right back!” Penny grabbed Azura’s hand and tugged her away leaving an annoyed-looking Mercury by himself as Ciel wandered off in the opposite direction.

“Is something wrong?” Azura asked as Penny found yet another quiet spot behind the booths.

“Could you please assist me with this?” Penny lifted her hat to reveal a rounded black object stuck to her head.

“Is that... a magnet?” Azura tried not to burst out laughing. “How did you--”

“It’s a bit of a long story,” Penny sighed. “I’m sure Nyx will find it very funny, but for now, are you able to remove it? Ciel hasn’t noticed, but it would be best if we could take care of it as soon as possible.”

“Of course,” Azura chuckled.

xxx


	7. Never Miss A Beat (A)

"You know I feel like I never see your other teammate... that one with the pigtails," Azura mused, swirling her straw around in the tall cup that contained the dregs of the sky-blue-coloured milkshake. Apparently the ice cream booth did carry her favourite flavour and she'd gone every day to get at least a scoop. Salty and sweet-- a flavour pairing that you didn’t really think of when it came to ice cream. It was a good thing Nyx still insisted on regularly sparring with her.

"Eh, she's not very social," Mercury shrugged. He'd finished his sundae and was watching Azura play with her beverage.

"I'm surprised Cinder's not after you to be training 24/7. You're going to the finals for your team, right?" Azura lifted her straw out from the cup and absently licked the ice cream off of it.

"I've been a good boy. Earned myself some free time." He smirked, leaning an elbow against the table, grey eyes following every motion Azura was making with her tongue. She was doing that on purpose. She had to be. He’d been so close to kissing her the other day but then her weirdo-teammate had to show up. At least she’d been sufficiently distracted. Orders accomplished.

"Lucky you." She regarded him with a small smile, putting the straw back. "Well after today's events, it looks like Penny's going to represent us."

"Y'know, I have to say I was surprised at that. Would've thought at least Kenyon would have been the one with his semblance and all," Mercury remarked honestly.

"Yes, well..." Azura trailed off, averting her blue eyes. 

She was hiding something but he didn't push. Cinder would find out all their secrets soon enough thanks to Emerald’s recon work. For now, he was just biding his time with her. The nicer he was, the better his chances at getting what he really wanted from the prim and proper Atlas-raised Mistral girl. Sure, he could probably have gone after someone easier for a quick score, but Azura... the thought of turning her into a complete and utter mess because of him... he smiled just thinking how hot it would look.

Azura’s scroll suddenly went off and she picked it up from the table. After she'd lost it the other day, she'd been extra careful to keep it where she could see it at all times.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I have to take this." Azura scooped up her scroll and immediately got up from the table, walking off towards a small grove of trees at the perimeter of the grounds.

Mercury's keen senses overheard her say, "Hi Mom" before she went out of range. How curious. He'd managed to skirt all the usual banter about his background during their dates, changing the topics to current things like Vale, Beacon, and the Vytal Festival. As they were both new here, there were plenty of outsider observations they could talk about. Interestingly though, she had been almost as equally unforthcoming with information about herself. Silly girl. Making him have to do actual work...

He'd managed to figure plenty out about Azura, thanks to the access they had to the school records which apparently were incomplete. Cinder had let him look at Ironwood's files, and then there was everything he'd learned from just watching her. Yet another skill his old man had beat into him... that had come in handy for just an occasion.

Her mother though...

Mercury slid out from his seat at the table and followed after where Azura had disappeared.

"Yes, I'm making sure to brush my teeth every day."

He halted behind a large shrub when he heard her talking.

"No, there's no bunk beds. Yes, it's warm... hm? Oh Mom... of course..."

And then it happened. Literally the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. Sure, the prissy Schnee Heiress was known for her voice, but damn, Azura could give her a run for her money. Mercury was stunned. He definitely did not see this coming. Absently, his hand reached up and clutched at his chest. A memory. Faint, but it was there. Of a happier time. Gritting his teeth, he shoved the feeling back where it had bubbled up from. No. He refused to acknowledge it.

"Mercury!"

He looked up and saw that Azura had finished her call and was now staring at him with wide eyes.

"You... heard that?"

"Yeah."

"I don't suppose... you could keep it to yourself, huh?" 

She looked uncomfortable. A wicked thought came to mind and he decided it was probably best to act sooner rather than later given where they were at with Cinder's plan. Might not have too many more opportunities like this.

"I could..." he drawled, leaning back against the large tree and crossing his arms.

"You... you jerk," Azura muttered. "What do you want?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I feel like it should be fairly obvious by now. Come on, I know you've been thinking it too."

She grew silent, and he could see the gears turning in her apparently brilliant mind.

"Well?" he asked.

"Not here," she said, biting her lip in thought. "But know a place that will work."

He smiled. "Lead the way then."

\--

"Where the hell have you been?" Emerald asked when Mercury finally returned to the dorm room.

"Studying in the library," he replied, stretching his arms and immediately dropping down to do a set of push-ups. "Learned quite a bit."

Emerald snorted in disgust but returned to the game she was playing on her scroll.

"Hm..." Cinder was seated on the bed, going through the many files she'd gotten from Azura’s device. There had been an adequate amount of encryption on it, but nothing that their clever little friend couldn’t deal with. She’d come across plenty of interesting things for later reference and a picture or two of Nyx that she admired for several seconds before moving on. At last, she found something that caught her full attention, General Ironwood's secret project. "Oh!"

"What?" Emerald looked up at Cinder's surprised expression.

"Oh nothing. We're just going to be making a slight... mm... alteration to the plan," Cinder hummed, scanning the detailed schematics for Penny on the screen.

Emerald and Mercury glanced at each other.

"What does that mean?" Mercury asked carefully.

"It means... this will be even easier than we thought," Cinder smirked.

"So I don't have to get crippled... again?" Mercury wondered.

Cinder chuckled softly. "Oh Mercury. That's still going to be when things will take a turn... but this... this will be the tipping point for sure." She watched his face and gave him a sympathetic smile. "Be sure to give your friend a kiss goodbye beforehand, hm?"

xxx


	8. Fall/Beginning of the End (N)

Cardin agreed to meet Nyx today for their date at the market pavilions where everyone shopped at the festival. Cardin wore a red hoodie rather than his uniform or combat gear-- he had no idea what his date would be wearing. The shock would stay with him forever.

Nyx wore jeans-- they fit his legs snugly, and they were tucked into loose, slouchy black boots that came to mid-calf. His shirt was sapphire blue, worn under a loose black cardigan that fell to his midthighs. A blue scarf encircled his neck-- but it was the wavy hair extensions that did the trick-- a brush of makeup and a pretty hair clip, and Cardin didn't even recognize Nyx until he was standing in front of him, offering a paper coffee cup.

"Nyx?" Cardin managed, and the pretty girl with the pink lipstick gave him a very familiar grin.

"You look surprised, Cardin," the girl replied, and Cardin's jaw dropped. "Noo-- you're so hot-- how are you a dude?" he whispered, and Nyx smirked, preening a little.

"I told you-- my training has been... multifarious," he stated, stepping forwards to thread the fingers of his free hand with Cardin's and leaning in to give him a lingering kiss.

Cardin let himself return it without being worried about being seen. Nyx dressed as a girl was still Nyx. "Dammit-- I wish you had thought of this sooner--" he declared, and Nyx laughed.

"Does this mean we can go out more often? I mean as a bonus, Cinder wouldn't recognize me like this-- I doubt my own father would recognize me like this!"

xxx

Later that day, Nyx found himself studying in the library once again. All his dalliances were legitmately cutting into his academics of which Azura would have scolded him if she weren’t also occupied herself. He still didn’t particularly like Mercury, but he had to admit that Azura had seemed far less... uptight lately.

"Hello again, Handsome," Cinder purred from behind  Nyx , and he wondered for a moment if she  even remembered his name.

"Hello, Cinder-- bored again?" he asked lightly, and she laughed softly, sliding her arms around his shoulders from behind. She leaned into his back, and he remembered the curvy part of girls-- Cinder was delightfully curvy.

"Hmm... a little. But you can entertain me,  Nyx ," she purred, and he smiled a little.

"Sorry-- I'm no longer available to be... entertaining," he stated, and leaned forwards a little, breaking her loose grip. Cinder pulled away, then slid into the seat beside his, leaning on the table to look at him.

"Hmm... that's interesting-- and why not? I thought we were enjoying our little... flirtation?" she asked lightly, and he chuckled.

"Oh, certainly. You're quite lovely, Miss Fall-- it's just that the... hmm... other little flirtation I'm involved in is... requiring more of my focus, lets say." Cinder's brows shot up, and he chuckled  at her reaction . "Surprised to find you weren't the only one?"

"A little... though you are pretty enough I suppose. I knew you weren't the type to get attached-- I'm surprised you're indulging such behavio u r and cutting me loose instead,” she admitted. She reached out with one hand, and gently brushed a bright colo u red strand of hair back into place with its mates. "And that means that you have gotten attached to someone here, haven't you?" she smiled slowly, and  Nyx lifted a brow.

"One would assume-- or it could be possible that... she... would be-- terribly displeased-- if I was unfaithful to her magnificence,  while we’re apart, " he replied-- and very pointedly turned his gaze  out the window  at one of the Atlesian ships hovering about the school .

“Oh my. Climbing the out of the shadows the easy way?” she asked, and he laughed easily.

“You think that’s the easy way?”

xxx

Nyx watched A zura 's eyes follow Penny out onto the arena-- and then watched them linger on Mercury Black. He hadn't mentioned that he'd 'dumped' Cinder, but he didn't think she had said as much to Mercury-- or he hadn't spoken to  Azura about it .

"Nervous?"  Nyx asked from beside her.

Azura chewed the inside of her cheek. "A little," she admitted.

"She'll do fine,"  Nyx smiled and then blinked. "Unless... oh, you think Penny might have to fight Mercury?" Not that he thought the cocky fighter could stop Penny.  In fact, he found himself imagining the ginger-haired robot girl making Mercury dance around the arena floor with her swords and lasers.

"I... I'm hoping not."  Azura fiddled with her scroll. "Their combat styles are... radically different."

"We'll see I guess,"  Nyx said as the screen lit up with the rapidly rotating images of all the potential combatants.

Mercury and Yang.

Azura let out a small sigh of relief and put her scroll away. They settled into their seats, and as he glanced around,  Nyx noticed Cinder leaving the stands. Odd, considering Mercury was fighting one of Beacon's strongest  combatants . This would be a good match-- not to mention  it  would decide if her team moved forwards with Mercury's victory.

"Mm..."  he murmured.  Strange. Noteworthy. He wondered for a moment how she'd put two and two together about the  Atlesian  ship so quickly. He'd only told her he was from Atlas-- nothing more. He r co mment about climbing out of the shadows seemed innocent, but somehow, he felt like she  knew who he really was and what she was implying.

"What is it?"  Azura asked. She glanced in that direction and saw Cinder leaving the stands.

"Probably nothing,"  Nyx frowned.

Azura nodded and returned her attention to the main platform. The other finalists had left, leaving Mercury and Yang standing by themselves. The platform became suspended above the other panels, followed by bright spotlights coming on, illuminating the stage. Professor Port counted down to zero and the fight began.

\--

The shot from Yang's weapon echoed throughout the arena and Mercury instantly dropped, clutching his leg in pain.

"What the...?"  Nyx uttered in disbelief. That didn't seem like what he knew of the young woman.  Azura covered her gasp as Emerald ran out onto the floor to see to her partner. Atlesian soldiers had surrounded Yang, their guns drawn. Meanwhile, two medics had run out with a stretcher and loaded Mercury onto it. They took him away, Emerald right beside them as he watched. Where was Cinder? And the other one with the Pigtails?

Where was  Azura ?

" Azura , wait!"  Nyx turned to her but she was already gone, weaving her way through the seats and out of the main stadium. With a curse,  Nyx just shoved himself off the ground, reducing his gravity as he flung himself into the air. He spotted her disappearing through a door into the lower levels of the arena.

He couldn't help Mercury-- but he could help Yang-- probably.

Nyx landed behind Yang  in the center of the arena floor  and approached with confidence.

"Sir, step away from her--" one of the men began, but  Nyx pulled out his student ID. Unlike most Atlas  Academy Students, his had special clearance. The soldier hesitated, but nodded his head. "You may approach," he agreed. That probably meant he wasn't sure how far  Nyx could go-- but that he didn't have the clearance to stop him. He took another couple of steps towards Yang, who looked utterly stunned.

"Yang-- what happened?" he asked, and she pulled away. He hesitated, and then quietly said, "I'm Penny's--  b ig  b rother. I gave Ruby my number-- promised Penny that I would help her friends if I could," he said pointedly, and Yang frowned suspiciously.  Nyx wasn't sure how much she would know about them, but it was worth a shot. "I'm-- I know your Uncle Qrow-- and-- Weiss's sister Winter will vouch for me if required. You know that is not a woman whose name one tosses about lightly," he stated, and Yang finally lowered her fists.

"He-- attacked me. I know he did. I was defending myself!" she insisted.

N yx sighed. "That-- isn't what anybody else saw, Miss Xiao Long." 

Yang gave him a flat stare.

"Then everybody else is _wrong_."

xxx


	9. Fall/Beginning of the End (A)

Azura was just leaving the dormitory to get some breakfast when someone grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her around a corner. She whirled around, moving instinctively from her training, pushing her assailant up against the building's wall before going for the neck with her free arm. She stopped when she realized it was Mercury.

"I almost took you out!" she hissed, lowering her elbow. "What did you do that for?"

Mercury looked around and then back at her. He didn't say anything at first, merely taking in the sight of her rather angry form. She was really something. He was actually going to miss playing around with her, which was shocking given the fact he wasn't exactly a 'follow up' kind of guy.

"First, I'd like to see you try to take me out, and two: singles matches start today. Might get picked right away," he shrugged.

Azura regarded him with a frown. "You... want me to wish you luck? Because I know that you think you don't need it." In all actuality, she was surprised he was even here talking to her. After they'd hooked up in the library she'd have thought he'd have moved on after finally getting what he wanted from her. She'd liked making him wait because she wanted to see if he'd crack and admit that all he really wanted was just to get under her skirt. Well, that and he really was just nice to look at.

"Nothing wrong with a little warm-up to get you motivated." He then put his hands on her waist and spun them around, reversing their positions so that she was now the one pinned against the wall. Azura barely had time to squeak out a 'hey!' before his lips were on hers and they'd fallen down behind the bushes and out of sight.

xxx

Azura watched as Penny walked out onto the platform along with the other finalists which included Pyrrha Nikos from Team JNPR, Sun Wukong from Team SSSN, Yang Xiao Long from Team RWBY, and of course, Mercury.

"Nervous?" Nyx asked from beside her.

Azura chewed the inside of her cheek. "A little," she admitted.

"She'll do fine," Nyx smiled and then blinked. "Unless... oh, you think Penny might have to fight Mercury?"

"I... I'm hoping not." Azura fiddled with her scroll. If Penny was selected by the randomizer, she needed to remotely monitor the synthetic girl's vitals. "Their combat styles are... radically different." Even though she knew Penny could hold her own, the thought of seeing her get melee'd by Mercury's aggressive kicks made her inwardly wince.

"We'll see I guess," Nyx said as the screen lit up with the rapidly rotating images of all the potential combatants.

Mercury and Yang.

Azura let out a small sigh of relief and put her scroll away. She'd seen Yang fight and the girl was strong. Her punches could probably equal Mercury's kicks. This would be a good match.

"Mm..." Nyx was looking at another part of the participant seating area.

"What is it?" Azura asked. She glanced in that direction and saw Cinder leaving the stands.

"Probably nothing," Nyx frowned.

Azura nodded and returned her attention to the main platform. The other finalists had left, leaving Mercury and Yang standing by themselves. The platform became suspended above the other panels, followed by bright spotlights coming on, illuminating the stage. Over the loudspeaker, Professor Port counted down to zero and the fight began.

\--

The shot from Yang's weapon echoed throughout the arena and Mercury instantly dropped, clutching his leg in pain.

"What the...?" Nyx uttered in disbelief.

Azura covered her gasp as Emerald ran out onto the floor to see to her partner. Atlesian soldiers had surrounded Yang, their guns drawn. Meanwhile two medics had run out with a stretcher and loaded Mercury onto it. They took him away, Emerald right beside them.

"Azura, wait!" Nyx turned to her but she was already gone, weaving her way through the seats and out of the main stadium. 

The lower levels of the arena were mostly deserted, and Azura was easily able to find the loading bay with the medical transport. A dark-haired paramedic had her back to her and was speaking with the arena medic who had just appeared to have exited the ship. She waved a hand and he nodded, moving past her and then Azura.

"Um..." Azura took a step forward and the paramedic straightened but didn't turn around. "Excuse me?"

"Don't worry Miss," the woman said, opening the side door. "Your friend will be just fine."

"Azura?" Emerald appeared at the door as the paramedic walked past her and into the ship.

"Emerald!" Azura ran up to the green-haired girl. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah... they sedated him for now, so he's out," Emerald told her.

"Are you alright? You don't look so good either," Azura commented, noticing the girl's continual grimace.

"Just a bit of a headache," Emerald said, rubbing her temple. "Look, we gotta go."

"I know, I just..." Azura wasn't sure what else to say.

"I'll let him know you came to see him when he wakes up," Emerald said and stepped back, closing the door. Moments later, the transport pulled away from the Colosseum and off into the night.

xxx


	10. Destiny (A)

"Nyx!" Penny slid off her bed to greet her 'big brother' when he returned to their room.

"Hey. Ready for tonight?" Nyx asked, tugging at Penny's hairbow. "Might be your turn."

"Oh Nyx, you know I'm Combat Ready!" she saluted with a giggle. Her hand slid down back to her side. "Although you may want to talk to Azura. I think she's still worried about her friend." She motioned at Azura who was across the room curled up on her bed with an open book. Her scroll lay next to her, opened up to the messaging application. "She says she's reading but I haven't seen her turn a page in the last 20 minutes."

Nyx smiled. "I'll go check on her." Penny nodded and he strolled over to his teammate. "Any word?" he asked gently, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Azura glanced at her scroll and shook her head. "No. The officials said that the whole team is on their way back to Mistral."

Nyx frowned. "And no one's been in contact yet?"

"No."

"You message him?"

"I tried. It wasn't going through for some reason." Azura put her book down and picked up her scroll. "Bad connection, probably." She sighed and closed it, tucking the device back into her pocket. "What did your... erm... General Ironwood say about Yang?"

Nyx crossed his arms. "What's done is done. Regardless of what she may have claimed to have seen..."

"The world saw her attack him unprovoked," Azura murmured. "So what happens now?"

"She's disqualified and the tournament continues tonight."

"Business as usual then." Azura turned to stare out the window in the direction of the hovering Colosseum. "And the Grimm?"

"Heightened activity. After tonight's match I'll probably help out and patrol some on the perimeters," Nyx said.

"Good idea."

"Want to join me? It'll help keep your mind off of things," Nyx offered.

"Maybe. We'll see."

The door opened again and Ciel walked in carrying a small plastic bowl containing a double scoop of the sky-blue ice cream from the fairgrounds. It had only just started to melt.

"Yay!" Penny perked up and went over to the beret-wearing girl.

"Here you go, as requested," Ciel said matter-of-factly, handing the bowl out to Penny but she shook her head.

"Oh no, that's for Azura!" she smiled and pointed over at their teammate.

"Ah, of course," Ciel nodded. She approached and held out the bowl along with a spoon. "I believe this is your favourite?"

Nyx grinned. "Aw, that's so nice!"

Azura managed a smile. "Thank you, Ciel. Penny, you didn't have to."

"You're sad because the boy you like got hurt! I had to do something to cheer you up," Penny said.

"I'll be fine," Azura assured her teammates. "It... it wasn't anything serious anyways." She took the ice cream and Ciel gave her the accompanying spoon.

"There's nothing wrong with a status update at least," Ciel stated. "Last night's event are all over the news. I've got to get back up to the ship now. My commander has more work for me to do." She nodded politely at the group and then left.

"Eat up before it turns into soup," Nyx instructed Azura and she gave him a glare.

"I'm not about to waste this, Nyx." She dug into the dessert and he chuckled.

"Just making sure."

\--

That evening, Azura and Nyx took the transport ship up to the Colosseum for the next finalist match-up. As they were filing into the stadium, Azura suddenly had the sensation like she was being watched. Frowning, she glanced around but there were just so many people here. Strange. Nyx then tugged on her hand.

"Everything okay?" he asked, noting her state.

"I... I think so. I'm just a bit on edge tonight. Sorry."

"Yeah, I'm kinda nervous too," he admitted. "But hey, maybe it'll be that Sun guy fighting! His gun-chucks are pretty awesome, not to mention those abs."

"The design of his weapons are quite fascinating," Azura agreed. She smiled and let Nyx lead her further into the arena to find seats. Tonight couldn't possibly be as eventful as the last match, right?

Off to the side, a maintenance door was slightly ajar, and grey eyes followed Azura as she disappeared into the stands. The door shut and behind it, Mercury let out a long sigh. This wasn't like him. He had a job to do, and damn it if a science-nerd would ruin it all. A girl who was pretty, incredibly clever, and just as snarky as him. It was a no-brainer, though. Mess this up and he was a goner. If Cinder didn't kill him, he'd be wishing that she had. And so he did what he was trained to do-- separate whatever 'feelings' he may have had for the girl from Atlas, and go back to the job at hand... but not without one last delicious thought of what might have transpired between them if he'd pulled her into this dark and isolated corridor...

xxx


	11. PvP (A)

Silence.

With each clatter of Penny's swords onto the arena floor, Azura felt like the sounds were piercing directly into her heart. She turned to Nyx, who's blue eyes were the widest she'd ever seen. His hands were clenched into fists and his entire body was vibrating.

Her scroll's screen was flashing red. Numbly, she closed it and put it away into the pocket of her school uniform; she'd changed back into it before coming up to the Colosseum.

"Nyx..." she began softly, slowly reaching out her hand.

Then suddenly, all the arena screens turned red, and the image of a black chess piece appeared. A woman started to speak, monologuing about the power the school headmasters possessed and the state of the kingdoms. In front of them, General Ironwood leapt up and immediately headed towards the control booth.

The broadcast ended and just when Azura thought it was over, the sirens began to blare. An incoming Grimm attack. Threat Level 9.

"Nyx!" Azura grabbed her partner's shoulder, shaking him. "We have--"

"We have to go get her." Nyx was still staring out where Pyrrha was, now alone and clearly afraid. The strewn parts of her opponent lay on the ground a short distance from her.

"What are you..."

"Penny. We can't leave her out there."

Above them, a Nevermore landed on the top of the Colosseum's shield and began fiercely trying to break it down.

Azura looked around at their other schoolmates who were scrambling to their feet and heading for the exits. She steeled a breath. "I know. Let's go."

xxx


	12. PvP (N)

Silence.

With each clatter of Penny's swords onto the arena floor, Nyx flinched as if they were each being plunged into his back. His hands were clenched into fists and his entire body was vibrating.

"Nyx..." Azura began softly, slowly reaching out her hand. He heard her, but all he could see was Penny-- who he was supposed to keep safe.

Penny-- sliced into pieces.

Tears were filling his eyes-- he couldn't pretend to love her-- so he loved her. Penny had been someone he could give all of his quietly pressed down and carefully restrained affection to-- and he had done so wholly and with great abandon.

The scene began to blur-- tears in his eyes. He wanted to scream-- to hate Pyrrha-- to attack her-- but it was an accident.

Then suddenly, all the arena screens turned red, and the image of a black chess piece appeared. A woman started to speak, monologuing about the power the school headmasters possessed and the state of the kingdoms. He saw his father leap to his feet and immediately head towards the control booth.

The broadcast ended-- then suddenly, the sirens began to blare.

An incoming Grimm attack. Threat Level 9.

"Nyx!" Azura grabbed her partner's shoulder, shaking him. "We have--"

"We have to go get her." Nyx was still staring out where Pyrrha was, now alone and clearly afraid. Standing amidst-- debris.

"What are you..." 

He blinked back the tears and swallowed his grief as best he could. "Penny. We can't leave her out there." His little sister, whom he loved. Nyx knew he did-- because he wanted to hurt Pyrrha-- he liked Pyrrha.

Above them, a Nevermore landed on the top of the Colosseum's shield and began fiercely trying to break it down.

Azura looked around at their other schoolmates who were scrambling to their feet and heading for the exits. She steeled a breath. "I know. Let's go."

xxx


	13. Battle of Beacon (A)

Azura watched as the two Beacon professors deftly took out the Griffons, patting each other on the back as they left the seemingly-now deserted arena. Lockers littered the floor from the students who had helped in eliminating the Nevermore.

Carefully, the Atlas girl made her way to the center of the area and used a cue from the other students; she used her scroll to summon the locker assigned to her when they had arrived at Beacon. Almost immediately the storage unit arrived, the door hissing open. She took out her batons and tipped the thing over so that it was lying face up, effectively turning it into a coffin.

"Find them all?" Azura asked, sensing Nyx behind her. When the Nevermore had landed in front of Pyrrha, the force of it had scattered the parts a fair distance around the entire arena floor. After Nyx had summoned his own locker with his weapons, he'd gone off to gather what remained of his little 'sister'.

"I... think so."

"Her swords?"

"I'll get those next."

Azura turned and saw Nyx cradling Penny's upper torso, the head resting against his chest. She took another breath. She couldn't cry. If she did, Nyx would surely break down as well. She had to be strong for the both of them right now.

"Okay, everything should fit in here." Azura held out her arms but Nyx walked past her and gently set his precious cargo into the locker.

"Azura."

"Mm?"

"Can you... close her eyes?"

Azura knelt down and leaned over the side of the locker, pulling out her scroll. She fiddled with a panel that was hidden behind Penny's ear. There was a small cord within the panel that she was able to extract and attach to her scroll. She entered a few lines of code and the unit responded, lowering the eyelids of the synthetic girl.

"Thank you," Nyx murmured. He carefully put in the other three pieces he'd retrieved and then zoomed off with his semblance to collect Penny's weapons. Once that was done, they closed the locker door together.

"Coordinates?" Azura wondered.

Nyx pulled out his scroll. "Probably the flagship... huh?" There was a flashing warning on his screen.

"Huh?" Azura looked down at her scroll and the same warning was also going off. "What the..."

"Compromised. The system's been compromised!" Nyx exclaimed.

"How? The same virus that's jamming the comms and keeping the broadcast live?" Azura couldn't believe it. This attack was extremely coordinated and must have taken ages to plan. It was impressive, despite it being an act of terrorism.

"Must be." Nyx swiped through his scroll. "I can still see some of the feeds. Grimm everywhere... and White Fang."

"The White Fang is here too?" Azura’s jaw dropped. "How desperate are these people?"

"I need to find Dad."

"What about..." Azura motioned at the locker. "Is there anywhere safe we can send her?"

Nyx frowned while thinking. Finally, he went over and punched in a set of coordinates and the locker took off. "She'll be okay there. We'll get her after."

"So where to first?" Azura wondered.

Nyx sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "As much as I hate to suggest it..."

"You go high, I go low?" Azura shrugged.

"Yeah... except we're talking the entire school and Vale," Nyx grimaced. "That's a lot of ground to cover."

"There's plenty of fighters here. Whoever these guys are, they're ambitious, I'll give them that," Azura remarked.

"Mm. Ready?"

Azura nodded firmly. "Yes."

Nyx activated his semblance then held out a hand to his partner. She grasped it tightly and they were off.

\--

Azura raced across the rooftops, sniping the corrupted Atlesian robot soldiers from above. Ironwood's flagship had been hacked, and now all the technology that was once on their side had turned. What a waste. Up above, Nyx was somewhere, doing his thing. Their comms weren't working, and the only thing their scrolls could display was the forced broadcast of the events happening around them. If she could trace the origin, she might find the person responsible, or at least a clue. There was just so much chaos going on she wasn't surprised that no one else was doing what she was... or at least, that was what it seemed like.

She crouched down beside a tall vent and pulled out her scroll. It looked like the livefeed was still going on, and based on how the camera was moving, it certainly seemed like it was a person in control and not a drone of some sort. She squinted, trying to determine which direction the camera was in relation to her current position. Based on what she could recognize from the action, she was close. The camera could have been zoomed in, but it appeared she was going the correct way. Suddenly, the entire ground rumbled, shaking everything sideways and she stumbled. What was that?

Standing, she drew a deep breath and kept going, leaping to the next rooftop. It was a good thing most of these buildings had flat rooftops. However, she was not prepared for what she was about to find.

There.

She landed on what she figured was the correct location, rolling behind a air-conditioning unit. Below she could still hear the sounds of battle and raging fires. She held her breath for a moment, listening. A crunch. Shuffling. Someone was walking around on the other side of this roof. She quickly looked at her scroll. This had to be it. Damn it Nyx, where were you?

Slowly, Azura stood, her weapons drawn. She peeked around the corner and her eyes widened in shock.

"What?"

She must have said it louder than she thought because the person pointing the scroll towards the carnage turned around. His eyes met hers and his face broke into a broad smirk.

"Oh hey, fancy running into you here. Back into your boring uniform, huh?"

"...Mercury?" She didn't want to believe it. Her heart had already been shattered once tonight.

Mercury turned around and mockingly held up his hands. His scroll was gone. She could have sworn he was just holding it. "Ooh, you caught me."

"Why?"

Mercury shrugged. "Why not?"

"Your leg..."

"It's a Vytal Festival miracle."

Azura’s eyes narrowed. "Who's actually in charge? Is it Cinder?" She knew she didn't like that dark-haired woman that Nyx had been flirting with. That must have been her doing that speech over the speakers. She wondered how Nyx hadn’t recognized her voice. Probably because he’d spent more time wrestling with tongues rather than actually having a conversation.

Mercury made a zippering motion across his lips and then slid into a fighting stance. "You’re actually gonna try to take me out? Because we both know how this'll go."

"Was everything a lie then?"

Mercury hummed, tilting his head to the side. "Not everything. I still think you were the most fun person I met here... and the cutest. Too bad it's all gone to hell."

Azura stared at him and her pent up emotions finally got the best of her. "You can say that again." She activated her full semblance and then the real fight actually began.

xxx


	14. Battle of Beacon/Heroes and Monsters/End of the Beginning (N)

Nyx had sent Penny somewhere safe-- somewhere he knew no one would look for her-- a grassy glade in the Emerald Forest that he was rather familiar with.

He would bring her home safely-- after they'd stopped the chaos.

Nyx took Azura's hand-- but he didn't take her to the ground just yet-- they instead landed outside where the shuttles were taking guests away from the Colosseum. As they landed, Nyx saw his father execute a Beowolf with efficient lethality. He stood behind the crowd of students, but his father's eyes met his. He looked tired-- ashamed, almost, though no one else would see that.

When his father suggested they all run-- he knew what he was saying.

Please run. Please don't die.

Ironwood left on a small ship, and the students boarded a larger transport for Beacon. Nyx gave Azura a push towards the craft.

"Go-- I'm going after Dad," he stated, and she nodded, running after the other teams. She would try to trace the origin of the broadcast on the ground.

Nyx flung himself into the air, heading towards his father's ship. A small red form on a rocket-powered locker almost hit him, and Nyx was fast enough to catch the tip of her cloak.

A strange spinning sensation struck him as Ruby Rose used her semblance to land on one of the ships.

"Ruby!" he called-- his weightless gravity had let him get sucked up her wake. She took out a few guards, then turned to look at him in surprise.

"Nyx?!" she gasped, and he rose, shoving her to the ground as a Nevermore raced over the ship. A flock of Griffons followed it, and they scattered to slay the pair that landed. When the dead Griffons vanished into dark ashes, a girl with pink and brown hair stood behind them. Emerging onto the platform beside her was a man with a white suit and a black derby.

He and Ruby shared a look, and she frowned at him.

"Torchwick is mine," she insisted in her sweet little voice, full of anger and determination.

"Penny would want me to help you-- so I'll handle cutie pie," Nyx replied. The tiny girl with the parasol smirked, and Nyx flung himself at her. She parried his attacks as Ruby and Torchwick began their battle, but that was what he wanted. He wrapped his hand around the middle of her pink parasol-- and she popped it open, knocking him away. It didn't matter.

One touch was all he needed.

The wind at that altitude was so fierce-- he was holding himself down-- but he let her parasol lift her--sucking her into the sky. In a flash, she was gone-- and then Nyx was flung into the sky by a shot in the back from Torchwick's weapon. He soared into the sky-- and knew there was no way he'd catch up to the ship with his momentum already in the other direction.

Ruby Rose was on her own.

\---

The wind flung him downwards, and he let it take him to the ground-- slowing his fall to land in the square. His father stood as Nyx seldom saw him-- uniform torn nearly half away-- all of his cybernetic parts visible.

The half of his body he had lost to save his son.

He was giving instructions-- but Nyx found himself distracted. Standing on the opposite corner-- without his teammates-- was Cardin. He looked like he'd been in a few fights already. Nyx strode across the street, ignoring his father as he spoke to Qrow and Glynda.

Cardin saw him when he was a few feet away-- and even the presence of their professors didn't stop him. He put an arm around his neck, and Cardin only tensed for a moment before he returned the hug. They clung to each other for a moment, then Nyx pulled away, and gestured for Cardin to follow him. Cardin hung back, but Nyx was all business-- as was his father.

"I think I might have killed one of Roman Torchwick's accomplices-- before I'm pretty sure he and Ruby Rose brought down the ship. I got knocked off before it went down so I can't be certain," he reported, and Ironwood nodded.

"Thank you-- I'm-- glad you're safe," Ironwood stated, and his eyes flicked to Cardin, who was furiously blushing and not making eye contact. "You're-- one of Ozpin's students."

Cardin nodded, and Nyx cleared his throat.

"Cardin... is my... friend," he said carefully, and the General stared at him for a moment, then blinked a couple of times.

"Your-- friend. Oh-- of course. Well-- glad I didn't let him get eaten by Grimm a few minutes ago," the man said, and Nyx gave a surprised laugh.

"Yeah-- me too," he nodded, and they stood quietly for a moment. "Dad-- Azura and I-- took care of Penny-- I-- she's somewhere safe-- I-- I'm sorry--" Nyx’s voice wavered for a moment, and his father lifted a hand, gripping his shoulder.

"It's not your fault-- it's theirs. We'll find them-- stop them. We'll-- see what can be done to help Penny," he said gently, and Nyx gave a silent nod, his head bowed.

He really did love his sister. 

In a rare show of public paternal affection-- James Ironwood hugged his son while the young man finally broke down.

\---

It didn't take Nyx long to collect himself-- after he’d told his father where Azura had gone, Ironwood sent him and Cardin both to help out with evacuating people from the Stadium and Beacon alike.

It was Nora who recognized him-- who said Ruby had gone back to Beacon Tower where that enormous Wyvern Grimm was hovering. Nyx took off after her-- but it was Weiss he found at the bottom of the tower. He could see Ruby's cloak, just disappearing-- and before Weiss's runes could fade, he flung himself after her.

A bright white light suddenly swallowed everything-- and then Ruby Rose was falling into his arms. He caught her-- she knocked him backward, out of the sky.

He felt the cool rush of Weiss Schnee's runes as she slowed their fall-- but he got his shit together enough to catch them. Weiss fell to her knees as he landed on his rear. The giant Grimm above them had frozen somehow.

"What happened?" Weiss asked.

"I dunno-- there was a flash-- she fell on me," he stated.

"What about Pyrrha?" Weiss asked, and Nyx dumped Ruby in her arms, launching himself back up towards the top of the tower and past the Wyvern that had appeared to have been turned to stone.

There was no one. Nothing. Whether Pyrrha's foe escaped or not-- he couldn't tell.

But laying there on the ground in the shattered remains of Ozpin's office-- was a golden crown-- and a pile of ash.

Holding the crown in his hands, Nyx bowed his head. His hands tightened a little on it, and he said the words aloud-- even if she was beyond hearing them.

"I-- don't hate you. I forgive you-- it wasn't your fault. You-- were amazing. You died trying to save everyone-- I'm sorry we didn't get here in time, Pyrrha."

\---

Nyx dropped down to the ground-- Weiss was teary-- but she wasn't alone anymore. Qrow didn't reek of alcohol this time-- and he was cradling Ruby in his arms. Nyx swallowed and held the crown up. "We lost-- didn't we?" he asked weakly.

Qrow sighed a little. "Yeah-- we lost this one," he agreed. 

Nyx nodded slowly, rubbing a sooty mark off the golden crown. "We win the next one, yeah?" Qrow sighed a little, and Nyx glared at him, eyes flicking to how pale and wide-eyed Weiss was. She was more like her sister than her dad-- something he actually appreciated. 

Qrow sighed again. "Yeah-- sure kid. We win the next one."

\---

Nyx spent hours being questioned-- not just by his father-- but Glynda Goodwitch was present, along with Qrow Branwen.

He was completely honest.

He and Cinder Fall had a number of rendezvous-- where nothing was discussed. It had been purely physical, but for their banter.

No-- he'd never misplaced his scroll.

He gave accurate recountings of all of his conversations with Ruby Rose. He told them Ruby had wanted to fight Torchwick-- and that he'd flung the little flunky with the two-toned hair into the Grimm-filled sky-- but that he'd lost visual contact with her when he was knocked off the ship too.

That he had not seen Cinder Fall on the roof-- just blood, and ash, and the golden crown of Pyrrha Nikos.

He was hungry and exhausted-- and desperate to contact his friends because his scroll had been confiscated. Before he and Cardin had parted ways-- he'd begged him to do something for him.

He wouldn't fail her again-- he and Azura would get Penny home.

After repeating himself for the thousandth time-- finally-- they told him he could go-- after he brought them Azura. His partner, who had willingly spent the most time in close contact with the bad guy.

"She was used-- she's innocent--" he insisted, and his father held up a hand to silence him.

"We know that neither of you intended to aid our enemies-- and that you've both lost someone you care about today-- as well as being personally betrayed by these animals. You-- and Azura-- are both innocent. We just-- have questions. We need to know everything, Nyx." 

His father's solemn gaze made him swallow. "And Penny?" he asked quietly. 

James Ironwood was silent for a moment, and then sighed. "Of course, she'll go home to her father," he stated, and Nyx nodded slowly.

"We leave soon then?"

"Once we've finished preparations, we'll be leaving," General Ironwood nodded. 

Nyx nodded a little, and then met his gaze. "We should stay-- these people need help--" he began, and his father's tired eyes narrowed a little. Nyx swallowed. "I-- am requesting permission to stay and help, Sir."

"Denied." Ironwood said calmly. 

Nyx's jaw dropped a little. "Dad--" he began, and James held up his metal hand.

"You're coming home, Nyx."

"Why?"

"Because as your General, I am ordering you to return to your post, Son." 

“James.” Glynda reached out, and Ironwood flicked her an irritated glare. She froze, and Nyx swallowed.

"Penny--" he began, and Ironwood gave an irritated sigh.

"When I let you spend time in Dr. Polendina's lab, I didn't think you'd get so attached to your toys!" he snapped, and Nyx’s spine went stiff, and his ears went back.

"James-- What the hell!" Qrow snapped, and the man blinked, looking at Qrow, and then his son's carefully blank expression. He leaned back, and ran his flesh hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Nyx. She's-- she can be fixed, I'm sure. She's not dead-- she's just gone for a while. What we all saw happen to her--" he shook his head, and Nyx exhaled slowly.

"It's not just Penny. Pyrrha Nikos is dead because of all of you-- all of us. Ozpin was right-- I was a fool to sign up for this war. Yang lost her arm, Blake got stabbed, Weiss is going back to her garbage person of a father--"

That last part made him surprisingly mad. Nyx hadn't realized he'd come to like the younger Schnee girl. Watching her pale, doomed face as she left with her father had made him feel sick. Faunus weren't the only ones who suffered at the whims of Jacques Schnee.

"I-- need time. I can't go back to Atlas yet. Please-- let me do this," Nyx asked quietly. 

Ironwood sighed. "Fine-- you can help Azura bring Penny back to the ship-- and then you'll be on your own. The CCT won't be back up for some time," he warned, and Nyx nodded, his shoulders relaxing a little.

"He won't be alone-- I will make certain his talents see use-- Vale could use someone with his strength-- especially when half our best students just got sent home," Glynda stated, and he gave the woman a nod of thanks.

"Thank you-- I'll-- bring Azura in for you," he said and left the room.

When the door closed, Qrow looked at Ironwood.

"What the hell was that?" he asked again, and Ironwood looked away.

"Can you blame me for wanting to protect my son? Ozpin is gone-- Amber is gone-- Pyrrha Nikos is gone. My son was not incorrect-- this is my-- our-- his-- faults. Don't you want to protect Ruby and Yang?"

"Tch-- okay, I guess. You don't have to be such a dick about it though," Qrow sighed, and took a pull from his flask while Ironwood resisted the urge to punch him.

xxx


	15. End of the Beginning (A)

It had all gone wrong.

So horribly, horribly, wrong.

Azura sat on a cold metal bench staring numbly at the wall. Nyx was currently in a private meeting with his father, Glynda Goodwitch, and Qrow Branwen going over what had transpired in the last 48 hours. She hadn't been invited; in fact, her scroll had been confiscated and she still needed to be properly debriefed.

Beacon Academy had been turned into a Grimm-infested territory. After the Wyvern had been petrified atop the main tower resulting in an unconscious Ruby Rose, Nyx had gone in to investigate. He’d found a gold circlet belonging to Pyrrha Nikos amongst a pile of ashes, and a large spatter of blood that they'd yet to identify, but from the information they'd gotten from a grieving Jaune Arc, it probably belonged to Cinder Fall.

Professor Ozpin was missing.

Most of the visiting students had been taken home almost immediately, but that also included some of the Beacon ones as well. She'd been present when Jacques Schnee had personally come to collect his daughter. Weiss left with her chin held high, but Azura recognized the look in the girl's eyes. Perhaps she'd try to contact her, once she inevitably was shipped back to Atlas herself.

As for the culprits themselves, they'd disappeared.

Cinder, Mercury, Emerald...

Gone.

Qrow had been dispatched to do a quick survey of the surrounding area, but it appeared that they must have had an extraction plan of some sort because he couldn't find a trace of the three false Haven students.

Azura’s hand drifted up from her lap to touch the side of her neck. Her aura was still recovering-- it'd been completely drained during her battle with Mercury. Because of that, she still sported several ugly, dark purple humiliating reminders of him that had yet to fully fade. She'd kept pace during their fight using her full semblance; analyzing his combat style and using it to automatically defend and counterattack, but doing that put a major toll on her aura level. He had clearly been enjoying himself though, as he'd had that stupid smirk on his face the entire time he attacked her. 

She shivered, thinking about what he'd done... what she'd let him do to her... 

She'd thought the worst when he'd finally gotten her down against the roof, his legs pinning her down with an usual weight. There was a dangerous gleam in his eyes, and she'd shut her own, refusing to acknowledge him. But he never went as far as she feared; not even close, but what he did do was far worse... because she liked it. It was if for a brief moment, nothing else in the world mattered. She’d never felt that way before, and it wasn’t lost on her that it was a horrible time to be experiencing such a thing.

And then he vanished. As in she didn't even see or feel him leave. One moment he was kissing her vigorously and the next she was alone, her breathing erratic and her heart beating rapidly in her chest. After she'd managed to collect herself and investigate, she'd found evidence of a third person on that rooftop. Emerald, maybe? She didn't doubt that the mint-haired girl truly was his partner... literally in crime.

Azura let out a small groan. She'd made the worst mistake of her life, and now here she was, awaiting judgement.

The door opened with a soft click.

"Hey."

When she didn't respond, she felt Nyx come and sit down beside her.

"Am I being court-martialed?" she wondered.

"No. We were fooled. All of us. The blame is on the one pulling the strings on the bad side."

Azura blinked a few times and sat up straighter. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means..." Nyx sighed and ran a hand through his thick hair. "It means they want to talk to you."

"I don't know anything."

Nyx stood up and held out a hand. "Come on. They're waiting for you."

Azura stared up and met her partner's blue eyes. She could see the circles around them, just as weary as she was. He managed a small smile and she let out the breath she'd been unconsciously holding. She could trust him. They'd been through so much together. She had to. There was no one else.

She took his hand.

"Okay."

xxx

End Volume Two


End file.
